Whether in Saint-Pabu or in neighboring towns, it was understood that if you wanted to have an abundance of meat or fresh eggs, you had to increase the number of animals. In other words, intensive farming was necessary for each family to have access to this food.
Efforts were made quite quickly to ensure that almost every egg would hatch into a hen or a rooster so that within a few months, there would be three to four times more eggs. Each hen produced an egg a day. It was certainly the most profitable and interesting animal for the community.
But for cattle, it was different. Males were not numerous, and the gestation period was long—about 275 days. That was considerable. The region's oxen had been put to work from the first days and weeks, which led to many births. These calves were very young but grew quickly. However, it would take an additional year for these calves to become oxen of breeding age.
There was another highly sought-after animal, but this time it wasn't for consumption: horses. They were a bit less rare than oxen around Saint-Pabu, but that didn't mean they were common.
In the absence of electric or thermal vehicles, horses were the best means of transport, whether for allowing a single person to move around or to pull a load.
These animals had thus become as valuable as vintage cars in the pre-blackout world. Pierre could be considered wealthy, having an adult and healthy mare.
Six months ago, he had taken his precious Dakota to a breeder. After an inspection, the animal had been taken to a shiny brown-coated stallion. It wasn't a high-bred thoroughbred, and that wasn't what was needed.
As with cows, the idea was simply to increase the number of animals. Only then would the inhabitants be less confined to their commune. These horses, like oxen, could also help in the fields.
All the mares in the area now had round bellies.
Dakota was often tired, so Pierre took great care of her. He regularly took her out for exercise. He wasn't at ease and spent a lot of time with her. He was often accompanied by Céline. Dakota was happy.
I can't wait for the birth! I wonder who the foal will look like? Dakota or Rudy?
There were five months of gestation left before she would give birth to a foal.
I hope everything goes well!
Pierre, armed with a special brush, took care of his faithful mare. He was assisted by Céline, who was on the other side of the animal.
Their eyes met, and the young woman smiled at him.
Pierre returned her smile, although his was less bright and less natural.
It was then that he heard a gloomy voice that seemed to come from a cavern behind him.
"Bastard. You don't deserve her. You don't deserve her kindness."
Pierre turned around abruptly and saw the silhouette of a man standing at the entrance of his garage. He couldn't see his face or what his clothes looked like because the outside was so bright.
"What did you say?! Who are you, damn it?!" exploded Pierre, ready to jump on the stranger and smash his skull.
"You're just scum. You'll only make her unhappy."
Pierre clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers turned white and began to crack. His blood was boiling in his veins, and his heart was pounding. He turned slightly to make sure Céline was okay, but she was nowhere in sight. Dakota had also disappeared. The garage was empty, as if it had only been him from the start.
Where did they go?!
"Bastards like you deserve to be alone forever," continued the mysterious man. "You should have died like a dog in Paris. It would have been better for everyone."
"Asshole! I'm gonna kill you!"
Unable to hear any more, Pierre lunged at the man and struck, but for some obscure reason, there was no impact.
"What?!"
The man, whose lower half was now visible—a pair of grey dress pants and elegant black leather shoes—seemed to have vaporized just before the impact and was standing in the doorway of the wide-open garage.
"Kill me? But haven't you already done that?"
It was only then that Pierre recognized the voice and build of Vincent Cabot. Vince. The man he had killed before leaving Paris. His eyes adjusted to the light, and he could see him completely. Blood stained his shirt and poured from his mouth. His pitiless eyes stared at him as if he was about to pounce.
Seized by a sudden tremor, Pierre took a step back.
"This… This is impossible! You're dead!"
"And it's thanks to you, murderer," said Vince, uselessly wiping his blood-stained mouth with his suit sleeve. "A monster like you shouldn't even have the right to be near a girl like her. You don't deserve to see her or talk to her."
With the same ease as if he were taking off his suit jacket, Vince tore large chunks of skin from his face, starting with his cheek. His muscles moved with each motion, but soon they began to rot and blacken. Large white worms appeared, writhing and multiplying on his face until there was nothing left but white bones. Even his eyes had vanished. His hands ended up in the same state, as did the rest of his body.
In an instant, Vince was nothing more than a skeleton dressed in a suit. For some strange reason, the suit had not suffered any degradation.
"Why should you have the right to happiness, peace, or love? Hmm? Your hands are covered in blood, and inside you're nothing but a big pile of shit."
Pierre looked at his trembling hands and indeed, they were dirty.
"You can play the farmer all you want," the skeleton articulated softly, "but you will never change your true nature. You are like me, and you will end up like me."
"Shut up! I've changed!"
"Really? You'd certainly be more convincing without that saber in your hand. What are you going to do? Kill me again?"
Pierre realized he was holding his Napoleonic saber in his right hand. Without thinking, he brandished it and struck Vince, who did not dodge the blow.
This time, he felt resistance. A cruel smile formed on his sweat-covered face. Quickly, the smile disappeared when he realized it was no longer Vince standing in front of him. His eyes widened, his hands trembled, and slowly he opened his mouth.
"N-no!" he articulated with difficulty.
In horror, he let go of the handle of his saber, which was deeply embedded in Céline's shoulder. She had somehow materialized in Vince's place. She stood there, arms hanging by her sides, looking him straight in the eyes.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Why?" she murmured before collapsing.
"NO!"
Pierre leaped forward and took the young woman in his arms, whose body was rapidly becoming cold. Blood flowed from the gaping wound, staining her simple clothes. Her long blonde hair cascaded over his arms, reaching the concrete floor where a scarlet pool was forming.
Her eyes lost all their sparkle the moment her last breath escaped her now-white lips.
"CÉLINE!"
Tears streamed down his face, falling onto the young woman's.
Vince's voice then echoed again from behind him, where he had been moments earlier.
"You are the worst. A waste of humanity. A plague to everyone around you. The more they care about you, the more they suffer. Bastards like you should just die. It's better that way."
"SHUT UP!" Pierre roared, grabbing his saber again before lunging at Vince. "You're the bastard! You deserved to die! You worthless piece of shit! You did nothing but exploit others, belittle them, treat them like garbage!"
"What's wrong with treating worthless employees like garbage? At least they were useful."
Pierre's saber bounced off the bones or sliced through, but the damage seemed minimal. Nevertheless, he kept striking with all his might, hoping to silence the dark-suited skeleton.
"Haven't you done exactly the same?" the skeleton sneered, ignoring the blows. "You trampled those who arrived with you to secure your place in the company, then crushed those already there to snatch up the crumbs I left behind. Even when you got your seat and your office, didn't you keep trampling the newcomers and the less skilled? Didn't you think they were there to help you make more money?"
"That's not true!"
"You can lie to me, but lying to yourself… is pointless. You should recognize the truth. You're nothing but shit. But don't blame society for that. If it created bastards, didn't you fit right in? Why, do you think?"
"Shut up! Damn it, I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you!"
"Because you were already shit. You've always been shit. And you will be until the end of your days. Your parents really failed. And to think you're their only child. What a failure…"
The skeleton, whose suit was torn and tattered all over, shook its head, clacking its teeth. Even without lungs, it let out a deep sigh. Pierre could even smell cigarette smoke wafting around him.
"Don't you dare talk about my parents!"
"Oh, a sore spot? Heh! I'm sure they died full of regrets. My son, why didn't you become someone good? My son, why didn't you come see us more often? Why didn't you respond to all our messages? Why do you ignore us? Why do you act like this? Don't you love us anymore? We really failed your upbringing! What a disappointment you are! After all we did for you, all our sacrifices! What a failure! We deserved much better than this!"
"Shut your fucking mouth! You don't understand anything, and you never will! My parents love me and always will because that's how they are! Even if they don't know everything and don't understand everything, they've always stood by me! They've always encouraged me and wanted my happiness!"
Pierre, exhausted from striking the skeleton so much, raised his saber again and struck Vince violently on the side of the skull. A large crack suddenly appeared where Pierre had struck. Both Pierre and Vince were surprised.
"Huh?"
The skeleton made a small noise of surprise as a piece of its skull detached and fell to the ground.
Encouraged by this sight, Pierre raised his saber once more and struck the skeleton again in the same spot.
"You're wrong! I'm telling you I've changed! I was an asshole to others, my friends, my colleagues… and my parents, but I'm not the same anymore! I asked my parents for forgiveness! And they forgave me because they love me! And Céline, I'm going to make her happy! I'm going to return all her love!"
The skeleton was receiving so many blows that it could no longer respond to Pierre. Its skull was breaking a little more each time Pierre struck it, and soon there was nothing left. The fragments lying on the concrete then turned to sand like the rest of the skeleton, and when Pierre regained control of his emotions, he noticed he was alone. Céline's body had also disappeared along with all traces of blood.
"You'll see. You'll see that I've changed, you son of a bitch."
As soon as Pierre stepped out of the garage and set foot outside, he woke up. He found himself lying on a lounge chair wide enough for two people, in his garden, where he had roughly mowed the grass with a scythe. Céline was lying beside him, subtly illuminated by the sunrays passing between the branches and leaves of a large neighboring tree. She was peacefully asleep but was starting to wake up due to Pierre's movements.
He then remembered they had been taking a nap in the sun after sharing a hearty meal outside. She was using Pierre's shoulder as a pillow.
"What's wrong?" she asked, yawning.
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
Pierre slightly adjusted his position, causing Céline to snuggle closer. Pierre silently watched the young girl with long blonde hair fall back asleep and gently ran a hand through it. A small smile formed on her delicate pink lips.